America Eats Tavern

(mary randolph included a recipe for what she called ‘‘gaspacha'' in her 1838 virginia cookbook, showing the early spanish influence on american cooking. gazpacho finally arrived at the white house 160 years later, where it became one of president clinton's favorites.

(fannie farmer, the boston cooking school cook book, 1906 ), supposedly named after the crimson color of harvard, this dish uses cornstarch, unlike its predecessors, the root puddings of medieval europe.

(robert cobb, hollywood, 1936), cobb was the owner of the renowned brown derby restaurant in hollywood, one night he was hungry and supposedly created this salad from the leftovers he discovered in the walk-in refrigerator, he loved the result so much that he added it to the menu.

eliza leslie, directions for cookery, 1837.

catherine beecher, miss beecher's domestic receipt book, 1846.

(sarah josepha hale, new household receipt-book, 1853), the origins of jambalaya are as mixed as the dish, with its flavors from africa, france, spain and the middle east. mrs hale, who is credited with making thanksgiving a national holiday, published the first known recipe in 1853. in provence, in the south of france, a jambalaia at that time was a mixed stew with rice. but in louisiana it became something bigger in the original american melting pot.

(lettice bryan, the kentucky housewife, 1839), barbecue was a caribbean cooking technique that traveled first to virginia and the carolinas, along with the african slaves' taste for spices and peppers. in texas, barbecue came to mean beef, in a sweeter sauce. in north carolina, the pork is cooked in a vinegar-based sauce. we serve our ribs with sauces inspired by both state traditions, along with the coleslaw that first arrived with dutch settlers.

with cheddar mashed potatoes, catsups & pickles, (lewis and clark, south dakota, 1804), bison was a vital and sacred part of the native american culture for many thousands of years before lewis and clark ate their first on august 23, 1804. as they crossed the great plains, the great explorers each consumed nine pounds of meat a day. but by the end of the century, commercial hunters almost finished off the majestic species as factories demanded bison leather for machine belts. the us army even tried to eliminate bison as a way to control the tribes that relied on its meat.

(gus jaubert, kentucky, 1860s), burgoo was originally the porridge served to english sailors, until french chef jaubert transformed it into a meaty stew while serving the confederate general john hunt morgan. originally made with blackbirds and squirrels, kentucky burgoo is still served to large crowds on derby day, (wednesday only.)

(new york city, 18th century), an american tavern favorite since the mid 1700s, before the days of canning, using the popular spices of the era. perfect with beer.

(Grand Central Oyster Bar, New York City, 1913), Grand Central is the last living link to New York's great oyster culture. As rail travel declined, so did the oyster bar, which abandoned almost all its seafood dishes by the early 1970s. The one oyster dish that never left the menu through the decades before its revival was this great stew, (wednesday only.)

with homemade corn butter and american sturgeon caviar, a southern fisherman's favorite, fried over an open fire with the leftovers to keep the dogs quiet, at some point, humans figured the corn cake was a perfect match with freshly caught fish --- or american caviar, (with 1/2 oz.caviar.)

(gordonsville, virginia, 1869), deep-fried foods, first introduced by spanish and portugese slave-traders, are the living history that links the south and the mediterranean, during the civil war, women sold fried chicken from trays balanced on their heads to soldiers along the c&o railroad in gordonsville.

native americans taught the colonists how to survive by growing and harvesting corn. now corn is the most widely grown crop in the americas, this sweet baby corn, from the best farming co-op near the nation's capital, is how corn should taste.

(philadelphia, 1802), the grandfather of today's mac ‘n' cheese was first written down by lewis fresnaye, a refugee from the french revolution, one of america's first commercial pasta-makers, fresnaye handed out this recipe with the coiled pasta he sold.